While America stands down, the Taliban ratchets up. The “Taliban Five” are waltzing free in Qatar. Why would any nation threatened by the Taliban terrorist organization want to negotiate with them? What is necessary is to route them militarily and to eradicate their existence. The scope and scale of that operation is multinational. If the Taliban have 35,000 fighters in the open, what is the size of the population with family and affinity with them? Use a multiple of 10x per soldier to be safe and the population becomes 350,000. In nations with millions of people and sizeable armies, the matter is one of government and military competence, strategy, and will to combat them to extinction.

James George

With the US President and Secretary of State being willing to negotiate, that communicates unwillingness to combat them to extinction, correct? Not being a war hawk, but being committed to national and homeland security as well as global stability, it is unthinkable to walk away from the fight.

Taliban threats:

“The Taliban, meanwhile has been clear in its strategy, in which the presidential elections are its first objective. In an official statement on March 10, it stated “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan encourages all its countrymen to avoid becoming victims of the enemy conspiracies in the upcoming elections process; reject it wholly and do not put yourselves in danger. If anyone still persists on participating then they are solely responsible of any loss in the future.”

‘Across the Durand Line, the situation in Pakistan is similar. Commencing with a deadly attack on a military convoy in Bannu, near North Waziristan, that killed 20 paramilitary soldiers on January 19, the TTP has been aggressive and skillful in setting the tone. Under the pressure of impending military operations, it readily accepted the offer of peace talks by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on January 29. However, as the talks were about to begin, the TTP announced on February 17 the killing of 23 paramilitary soldiers it had held in custody since 2010 and claimed responsibility for a February 12 blast in Karachi that killed more than 12 police officers. The peace talks were promptly suspended and military operations were back on the table.”

It was not immediately clear how the militants were carrying out their attack or how many casualties may have resulted. At least 30 ambulances rushed to the scene, Mohsin said.Once again, the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility.

"This wave of attacks will be continuing in retaliation for the shelling and atrocities of the government," spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said by phone from an undisclosed location.Late Sunday night, 10 militants stormed the same airport's cargo area, leading to an hours-long assault that left 36 people dead.

The Pakistani Taliban also claimed responsibility for that assault, saying the attack was retaliation for the death of former chief Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in November in North Waziristan.

The militant group, also known as the TTP, had warned of more carnage starting Tuesday.Shahidullah Shahid, another TTP member, said earlier this week that the group would engage "in a full-out war with the Pakistani state, starting on June 10."

But the airport itself is safe, Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority said Tuesday.

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James A. George has over 25 years of experience working in the government consulting space with many years interacting with Congressional staff and government executives as a program manager and executive in developing policies. He was liaison between the Office of Secretary of Defense and the Aerospace Industries Association addressing standards for electronic commerce. He has written hundreds of papers and a book titled Smart Data, Enterprise Performance Optimization Strategy (c)2010 Wiley Publishing. He has published columns titled "The American Political System" and wrote a new book titled How to Select and American President (c)2011 All Rights Reserved.

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